Red Vs Blue
by Shuhei69
Summary: Grimmjow transfers to Karakura High School and starts to develop feelings for a certain boy with orange hair. Meanwhile, Renji is starting to take notice and realize how he feels for his best friend. Will Ichigo be able to choose between the two, even after developing feelings for both, albeit in different way? Rated M for later chapters.
1. The Transfer and the Exchange Student

A/N: Well I've been reading a lot of stories before going to bed and I kind of been inspired to write one of my own. I am warning you guys now, I am doing something stupid by trying to write a story while attending college. I am sure I can manage...somehow. I will try to get a least a chapter or two out a month. Please bear with me. Also, sorry for the slow start. Its been a while since I have written anything. A long, long while.

**Bleach:**

**Red VS Blue**

**Summary:** Grimmjow transfers to Ichigo's school and takes an interest in a certain boy. At the same time, Renji is also interested in the aforementioned person. Who will Ichigo choose?

**Chapter 1: The Transfer and the Exchange Student**

_The sky is a pitch black in color, but it is not dark. Stars littered the sky, each a different color, a strange phenomenon to see in a city. The moon, full and seemingly closer that it should be. Such a strange night. A gentle breeze drifted through the area. The leaves of the trees rustled, the swings of the park slightly swayed as well. Five figures stood in the park. Two in front of one, and two more slightly in the distance. Water streamed down from two honey-brown eyes._

_ "You have to choose Ichigo!" two voice shouted, each fierce in their own right, but one was a bit more malicious than the other._

"_I...I," Ichigo's voice stuttered. Tears still streaming. Two pairs of eyes glared at him. One blue, the other red. _

"_Stop this!" another voice demanded. One of the distant figures ran towards the lone one. "This isn't right!"_

"_Stop," a gentle voice in the distance commanded to the figure that was leaving its side. "You should not get involved in this." The figure kept running, disregarding what the other have told him. He placed himself in front of the single figure. There Ichigo saw black hair that looked blue with the way the light was hitting on it. In addition, catching a glimpse of dark colored eyes. Were they purple?_

"_If you both cared for Ichigo," he started, voice a little weak, hinting at sorrow, "you wouldn't make him choose, not like this." The fierce eyes eased up a bit, but anger still showed. Water started to drip from the sky as clouds rolled in. The once illumines sky quickly became dark, consuming all light, even the moon. Somehow, the two sets of eyes still gleamed, and were perfectly visible._

"_Sorry Ichigo," a voice coming from the red direction said._

"_Yeah Kurosaki," the voice from the blue side concurred. _

It was a normal day in Karakura Town. The sun was climbing out as beams of radiation started to spread along the city. Clouds scattered the sky, starting to change the color from a dull gray to a blue that is full of life. The leaves rustled with the breeze, signaling that the morning was going to be a chilly one. Browns eyes opened up and peered out the window, trying to gauge how the day was going to play out. The eyes blinked and glanced over to the clock that was on the other side of the room. 6:45 red numbers read.

"Time to get up," a male voice sighed. He wanted to sleep a little more, but he knew once he awoke, he was going to stay up. Crawling out of bed, the boy pulled off the sheets and put his feet in the slippers that were placed beside his bed the night before. He shuffled over to his dresser and pulled out a couple pieces of cloth. He would have turned on the lights, but he knew his was not fully awaken to withstand that, yet. He walked to the bathroom to begin his morning ritual. After showering for several minutes, Ichigo changed into his uniform and started to leave his room. Scenes from the dream he just had flashed before him, but he sighed, disregarding them. As he opened the door he saw that his younger, brown hair sister was about to knock.

"Oh, oni-chan," she gasped being surprised by her brother being up and ready. "Breakfast is ready."

"Ah, thanks Yuzu," he responded, a little put off by his sister's facial expression. How could she be so shocked to see that Ichigo was up this early? Or was it the fact that he was already prepared to head off to school. They both went down stairs. The orange hair teen joined his other sister at the table while Yuzu started to set out plates and began serving the food. "Where goat face?" Ichigo asked as he other sister came down the stairs.

"Ichigo, what are you doing up so early?" the other sister asked as she sat at the table.

"Father got called to the hospital for a medical emergency," Yuzu answered, "so he had to leave pretty early this morning."

"You know the spring term starts today," Ichigo responded to his other sister. He was not lying exactly. Although he was not ready to admit to her or himself that in fact it was the strange dream that woke him up. Albeit he was a little curious as to why all the voices were male.

"Here you go Ichigo, Karin," Yuzu smiled as she handed over two lunch boxes. "Its a special begging of the semester lunch!" She was so excited when she told them.

"Thank you Yuzu," Ichigo smirked, "I'm sure you worked really hard on it." A knock on the door interrupted the flow of the conversation. The three siblings looked over and saw the door opened. Dressed in a gray skirt, white polo, and red ribbon, a girl with long black hair walked in.

"Good morning Rukia," Yuzu called out.

"Morning Yuzu," she responded, "is Ichigo..." she stopped when she saw him in the kitchen. "What a surprise."

"Whatever," the orange hair teen sighed as he grabbed his backpack, "I got that a lot already." He walked towards the door and waved his free hand at his sisters. Rukia slightly bowed as she walked out the door with him.

The two teens walked to school in silence for a few minutes.

"What's on your mind Ichigo?" Rukia inquired. Normally he was quite, but somehow this felt different from the norm.

"Nothing," he responded. "Why?"

"Just wondering," she said. "Your quieter than normal, that's all." Before Ichigo could reply, they encountered more of their friends. This time there were two girl. One was a tall, busty woman, with hair just as orange as Ichigo, but was significantly longer. The other has short, semi-spiky jet black hair.

"Good morning Orihime and Tatsuki-chan," Rukia bowed.

"Good morning Kukhi-san," Tatsuki said in response. "Formal as always I see."

"At least she started using our first names," Orihime smiled.

"Where are the others?" Ichigo asked.

"Oh, I think they wanted to get to the school early to meet up with everyone else," the orange hair chick answered with a finger on her chin. Obliviously trying to think.

"Yeah so we better hurry up!" the jet-black hair girl added, with spunk. The group continued their journey to the school, chatting away like friends do. However, every now and then Rukia will glance over to Ichigo. Trying to figure out exactly what was and or is on his mind.

The gang arrived swiftly at the school and ran into the rest of their group. Since it was the start of a new semester, they all gathered at the auditorium for an assembly, where the principle of the school gave a speech. Everyone looked bored and tried their best to stay awake. After what seemed like hours, the student body was dismissed to go to their class for homeroom.

"I have a special treat for everyone!" the teacher announced as she slid the door open and walked into the class room. The class quickly got quite and and returned to their seats. Their teacher always had a way of catching them off guard and surprising them. The silence did not last long however as murmurs filled the room trying to figure out what the surprise entailed exactly. After taking attendance, the teacher spoke. "We have two new students that will be joining our room today." Gasps were heard throughout the class room. Its rare for students to transfer in the spring semester, especially two. What are the chances of that happening? "First we have an American students who came here on our Foreign Exchange Program." The room got quiet again as a stranger entered the room. He had short black hair, but extremely long bangs that covered his right eye. They were combed to the side, so it must have been intentional. He arrived in the middle of the room and pivoted to face the room. The sun coming from the window hit his head at an interesting angle. With the way the sunbeam made contact with his head, gave him a blue glow to his hair. His eyes were the next thing Ichigo noticed, they were a dark gray, almost like a gun metal color. However, there were specks of violet that gave his eyes a hint of life.

"'Sup," he said as his head did an upward jerking motion. Everyone just started as he looked over to the teacher before facing the class again. "Nice to meet everyone. My name is Trent Nocturne," he bowed. "My Japanese is basic so please help me learn. In addition, I am willing to help teach English." The class clapped, appreciating the effort it took to speak to natives in their language.

"Please take a seat next to Ichigo in the back," the teacher pointed. "He the one with orange hair," she added when she noticed that he had a confused look on his face. He slowly walked over and sat to the right of Ichigo. On the other side was a person with bright red hair and an bandana wrapped around his head. "Our next student transferred to our school due to his father work. Please welcome Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez (or Jaegerjaques since they are both correct.) Another male walked in, but this time it experience was quite different. He was quite tall, had bright blue hair, with matching blue eyes. His whole demeanor just screamed Type: Wild. Ichigo gasped, not loud enough for anyone to hear him though. The set of blue eyes from his dream flashed in his mind repeatedly. He felt like he has seen that man before.

"What's up?" he said to the class.

"Jaegerjaquez-san, is there anything that you'll like to say to the class?" the teacher asked.

"No," he bluntly answered.

"Okay," she responded in a defeated tone of voice, "please take a seat behind the orange hair boy in the back." Grimmjow took his seat swiftly. The moment he sat down, Ichigo tensed up as scenes from his dream flashed in his mind again. Could he be the same person from that dream?


	2. The Invitation and the Lunch

A/N: Alright here is the next installment. Sorry if it feels a bit rushed, it kind of was. I am also still setting up the plot. So please enjoy this chapter. I'm off to finish a research paper.

EDIT: Fixed minor grammar errors.

**Bleach:**

**Red VS Blue**

**Summary:** Grimmjow transfers to Ichigo's school and takes an interest in a certain boy. At the same time, Renji is also interested in the aforementioned person. Who will Ichigo choose?

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2: The Invitation and the Lunch<strong>

After the introduction of the two new students, school resumed like normal for the teens. As each class passed by, Ichigo kept feeling his eyes drift over his shoulder, inadvertently of course. Was that guys hair dyed, or was it just as natural as his own hair? At the same time, he was hoping that their eyes would not lock. After all, how would he explain constantly looking back? Once or twice is fine, since one could pass that off as disbelief, but on-going, now that was another story, in and of itself. The bell rang, dismissing everyone for lunch.

"Would you like to eat with me and my friends?" Ichigo asked as he turned around to face the blunette.

"Not interested," he answered. The bluenette stood up and Ichigo quickly rose to his feet.

"Yo! Ichigo!" a loud voice called out. A loud slapping noise was heard as well. The orange hair boy turned around to see his red-headed friend.

"Hey Renji," he responded with a small scowl on his face. Turns out that Renji slapped him on the back along with his greeting.

"What's going on?" the red hair boy inquired.

"I thought it'll be nice to invite Grimmjow to join us for lunch," he answered.

"And I told your friend that I was not interested," the bluenette coldly added. He started to walk away from the two teens.

"What about you?" Renji asked, turning his attention to the other new student who was still sitting at his desk. The raven hair boy looked forward with a bored look upon his face. Several girls crowed around his desk before he could respond to Renji.

"What's it like in America?" one girl asked. The group of about three girls giggled.

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"What bring you to Japan?"

"What kind of music do you like?"

"Are you going to join some clubs?" The barrage of questions kept coming causing the boy to stand up.

"I'm sorry," he said, making eye contact with each girl individually. "I just got here and I am still adjusting. Please give me a day or two to settle down." The girls looked disappointed, but nodded showing that they understood where he was coming from. Trent than faced the two warm color hair boys. "Thank you for the invitation but I must decline for today."

"Its fine?" Renji stated, albeit confusion was in his voice.

"Yeah," Ichigo scratched the back of his head, "just let me know." Trent bowed and left. Before he reached the door he turned around.  
>"Did either of you see which way the blue hair guy went?" Trent asked. The other two shook their heads. He turned back around and left the room.<p>

"Why is he looking for that guy?" Ichigo pondered. The two teens followed suit and left the classroom as well.

Ichigo and Renji voyaged to the rooftop of their education center to join the rest of their friends for lunch. A group of about six people were seating around a large rectangular table. The school has rules that forbid students from even spending time on the roof, but with the consistency of visitors, the principle decided to let that rule be broken. In fact, he was the one who placed a table on the roof for the students. Even though there was a big group of students, it still seemed like there was a few missing.

"What took you guys so long?" A short black hair girl inquired the moment the two warm colored hair teens arrived. Ichigo looked around the table to see which of his friends were there. Chad, Uruyu, Orihime, Tatsuki, Mizuiro, and Keigo were all seated , with their lunch on the table, but not eaten or even picked at. Rukia, was also present, just wondering what was taking so long. After all, they all share the same classroom so technically they should have left in a group.

"Sorry," Renji half-hearty apologized, "Ichigo over here was busy inviting the new kids to lunch."

"Oh," was all she could reply.

"That is unusually out of character for you Ichigo," Tatsuki remarked, a bit throw off by the random act of kindness shown by the orangette.

"Gee, you make it sound as if I'm a bad person or something," he responded.

"Well Kurosaki," Ishida started as he pushed up his glasses, "your not exactly the most friendliest of people."

"Boy Ichigo, he got you pegged," Renji chuckled. Everyone at the table joined in as well.

"Wait," Keigo chimed in. "You said kids, right?" Ichigo nodded. "So you invited both the normal looking one and the one with the blue hair."

"I do believe his sentence was plural," the boy with the glasses bluntly commented.

"Don't you find it odd that his hair is blue?" Keigo questioned.

"He probably dies it," Mizuiro pointed out.

"It could be natural," Chad added.

"Who hair is naturally a weird color?" Keigo inquired, not liking the fact that he is losing the argument.

"Well mine and Kurosaki-kun," Orihime answered.

"Let's not get into this again," Rukia sighed in frustration. The group looked at her and nodded. The majority of them did not want to open the Pandora's Box that is known as this conversation.

"So where is everyone else?" Renji inquired.

"Rangiku and the others will not make it today or tomorrow," Rukia answered. "All the upperclassmen have some paper work to fill out or test to take, I don't remember." Renji opened his mouth and made a smart allelic response. She snapped back and a fight escalated from there. Everyone at the table continued about their lunch, eating and chatting as the two of them fighting was the normal routine. Although, to outsiders, it would seem kind of strange. Another thing that was strange was that Ichigo's mind kept drifting back to Grimmjow. Why was that?

The next day had arrived and Ichigo had gotten to class early. Something woke him up and he could not remember why. To make matters worse, he could not get back to sleep. He sat at his desk, blankly staring at the front of the room. This caused some worried looks to appear on his friends' faces, but they knew Ichigo well enough to know not to bother him when he got like this. It was not like he was depressed, more like lost in thought. Sometimes he just needed some space to think and reflect on things. A few minutes before class started, Ichigo saw a flash of blue and noticed that Grimmjow entered the room. His uniform was not worn as nice and neatly as it was the previous day. Maybe he looked his best since it was the first day was the excuse Ichigo came up with. Not long afterward class started and suddenly it was lunch time. Ichigo turned to face Grimmjow.

"Lunch," he started before he was met with cold blue eyes.

"Not interested," was the response he got. Grimmjow stood up and left the classroom.

"Maybe tomorrow," Ichigo muttered as though he calling out to him. Te orange hair boy wondered why the blunette did not want to eat lunch with him. Would this pattern continue? How long will he take to get used to the school?

It was Wednesday and once again Ichigo was up early and ready to go to school. He walked down the stairs and walked into he kitchen where he caught a whiff of breakfast being prepared by his younger sister Yuzu.

"Is everything alright?" she questioned. There was a pained and worried look on her face.

"Everything is fine," Ichigo forced a smirk, "what makes you think anything is wrong?"

"Well you been getting up early," she started as she placed a spatula in the frying pan and started moving it around. "Also you been ready for school with time to spare." She lifted the pan off the stove and held it over some plates that were placed to the side. "The semester just started so there is no last minute cramming either." Ichigo took in what his sister told him and really thought it over.

"There nothing wrong," he responded, "it just that my body tells me to get up and there nothing I can do about that."

"Oh," she looked shocked, almost pulling an Orihime, "I never thought about it like that." The two of them laughed. "Even I have had weeks like that."

"What going on?" another young female voice asked. "Everyone is in such a good mood this morning. Is it because goat face is going to be gone the entire weekend?"

"Goat face is leaving?" Ichigo wondered, "how come he didn't tell me?"

"Don't sound so hurt," Karin poked fun, "he never tells you when he leaves until the last minute."

"That is true," he muttered. He then glanced over to his other sister.

"He has to go to a medical conference," she walked over back to the stove. "He leaving Thursday night and won't be back until late Monday afternoon."

"So it'll just be the three of us this weekend?" the orange hair boy inquired.

"Hate you break your heart Ichi," Karin said in between bites of her food. "Yuzu and I are going to be at a sleep over this weekend."

"The whole weekend?"

"Sorry Ichi-nii," Yuzu apologized as she started to eat her breakfast, "your going to be all by yourself."  
>"ICHIGO!" a deep male voice screamed as a shadow appeared in the kitchen. Acting on pure reflexes alone, Ichigo managed to counter his father with relative ease.<p>

"We were trying to have a warm family moment!" Ichigo scolded his father. Sighing, he picked up his bag and left for school.

"So you father is going out of town this weekend?" Renji asked. Rukia and Renji were gathered around Ichigo desk waiting for class to start. They were there early and still waiting for Orihime, Uruyu, and Chad to arrive. Normally they would walk together as a group, but Ichigo had to leave the house before his father started acting like his usual self.

"And you sisters are going to be gone for the whole time too?" Rukia asked as well. A smile slowly started to appear on her face. She glanced over to Renji who had a look of confusion on his face just like Ichigo did. After another second or two of exchanging looks, a grin grew on the red-headed teen's face. The orangenette continued to look for another few seconds before things started to click in his head.

"No!" he warned his two scheming friends.

"No what?" Rukia asked innocently, although the evil grin on her face said otherwise.

"We have no idea what your talking about," Renji joined in.

"No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" Ichigo emphasized his warning.

"Don't worry buddy," Renji patted Ichigo back and began to walk off.

"We'll take care of everything," Rukia reassured her other male friend before catching up with the red head. Ichigo face-palmed. He should not have said anything about being alone this weekend.

"Wait a minute," he muttered, "where are they going to?" He glanced at the clock to notice the time. This is when his usual morning group arrives, which means... "Damnit!" Ichigo cursed as he left the room to try to stop whatever Rukia and Renji were planning.

The bell rung signaling the beginning of the school day. Ichigo glanced around the room and noticed that Renji still had that grin on his face. Its a little too late to stop them now. He noticed that Trent had a distance look on his face, so he must not being paying attention to the lecture. He slowly turned his head without drawing attention to himself and noticed that Grimmjow had a look of loneliness on his face.

"Eyes front," Grimmjow growled, and Ichigo immediately turned his head back to the front of the room. What is the reason behind that look? There must be a reason. Right? School continued like normal until the bell rang for lunch. Ichigo quickly turned around to face the blue hair teen that sit behind him. "Don't bother." He warned before the orange hair teen could open his mouth. He stood up from his chair and walked out, leaving Ichigo a bit confused and hurt.

"Excuse me Kurosaki-san," a male voice asked. Ichigo turned around to see the other new boy standing right next to him. He quickly scanned the room to see if any of his friends were still in proximity. He did not need any witnesses to his failed attempt at inviting Grimmjow to lunch.

"Trent, right?" the orange hair inquired, getting a nod back in return. "Please call me Ichigo."

"Ichigo," Trent sighed. It felt weird to say. Japanese was not his native language, although his name was much easier to say than some other words. "Is the lunch invitation still open?"

"Uh, sure," he responded. For a moment Ichigo had forgotten about inviting him to lunch as well, even if it was by association.

"Then would it be okay if I joined you and your friends today?" Trent asked, his eyes not meeting Ichigo's. After all, it was hard to ask something like this.

"Its fine by me," the orange hair teen responded. There was confusion in his voice as he wondered why he was asking in such a way. "I'm sure my friends won't mind. In fact, Orihime and Rukia been pestering me to bring you to meet the group."

"I see," the raven hair teen smirk. He could not tell if this was a genuine thing or if the boy made that up on the spot.

"Although," Ichigo added, "if you don't mind me asking. What did you do the first two day for the lunch period."

"Well the first day Jaegerjaquez-san and I walked around the school to get familiar with the area," Trent answered. The mention of Grimmjow's name caught Ichigo's attention. "Then yesterday, Jaegerjaquez-san and I went to the cafeteria."

"So are you and Jaegerjaquez-san friends?"

"I think we are acquaintances at best. Since we were both new, we decided that we should stick together for the first few days."

"So why are you guys not together today?"

"Well you heard that Los Noches High (may change to Heuco Mundo High) closed down right?"

"Yeah, that was in the news recently, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well Jaegerjaquez-san was transferring out of that school regardless due to his father job. From what he told me, some of his friends are transferring over here so he wanted to meet with them today."

"I see," Ichigo sighed. "So why did he look so lonely? Would he be excited to have his friends come over to this school?" The orange hair teen shook his to clear the thoughts when he noticed that Trent was giving him a weird look.

"Are you okay Ichigo-san?" Trent asked. "You kind of spaced out there for a moment."

"I do that from time to time," Ichigo smirked. "We should probably go. My friends get tired of me making them wait." The two teens left the room and headed towards the roof.

The two teen arrived on the room after a few minutes. There was a huge crowd of people gather around a seemingly small table. It was probably bigger that it looked, but with as many people that were there, it was a crowed space. As the two of them walked up to the table, Trent got a good look at everyone there. The first thing he noticed was that there was a distinct lack of females. There were two busty ones, and two who was rather flat. You would think the two busty girls would share the blessing if they could. As for the guys, there was a lot. All of different shapes and builds. One even had feathers.

"Hey everyone," Ichigo waved. "Trent decided to join us for lunch today." Trent gave a light bow. "Allow me to introduce you to everyone."

"I recognize a few of you from class, but I do not remember your names," Trent confessed.

"Its alright," Rukia chuckled. "Your new and it takes some time to get to know people." She got up from her seat and grabbed Trent by the arm. "I'm Rukia Kuchiki," she introduced. "That guy with the long red hair is my boyfriend, Renji Abari."

"Yo," Renji acknowledge.

"You sit next to him in class. Those two at the end of the table are Keigo and Mizuiro. Next to them are Orihime Inoue and her best friend Tatsuki."

"Nice to meet you," Orihime Inoue smiled. Tatsuki glared at the boy. Watching his eye movements and making sure they do not wander to a certain place.

"The guy with the glasses is Uryu Ishida," Rukia pointed. Uryu adjusted his glasses.

"Nice to make your acquaintance," Uryu flatly said.

"The big quiet guy next to his is Sado Yasutora," Rukia mentioned.

"He and I been good friends since middle school," Ichigo chimed in.

"Hola," Trent said.

"Hola, hablo español?" Chad responded. Everyone glanced at the two of them. This was an unexpected development.

"A little," Trent answered. He looked around at everyone and noticed the surprised expressions planted on almost each of them. "The place I from is relatively close to Mexico. So the two cultures are mixed." Everyone's expressions wen back to normal. The response must have checked out with them.

"Now everyone to the left of him," Rukia continued pointing to the group of four teens, "are our upperclassmen. The girl with the long orange hair is Rangiku Matsumoto."

"Nice to meet you cutie," Rangiku winked. Trent smirked a little, but it was just to be nice.

"The two next to her are Ikkaku Madarame and his best friend Yumichika Ayasegawa," Rukia pointed out.

"How the hell are ya?" Ikkaku smiled wildly. He obviously has little manners. Yumichika just lightly waved.

"Finally," Rukia announced, "we have Shuhei Hisagi."

"Nice to meet you," Shuhei smiled as he stood up a little and stretched out his hand.

"Likewise," Trent slightly blushed at the man and shook his hand.

"Everyone, this is Trent Nocturne," Rukia introduced the new boy. The majority of the group knew him from class, but this was merely a formality for the upperclassmen. "He an exchange student from America."

"So that explains why he said the area he from," Rangiku realized.

"Now that we all know each other," Rukia smiled.

"Do you guys have any questions for me?" Trent interjected. Rukia shot him a quick glare and he responded with a faint smile. He did not mean to interrupt, but its only natural for people to have questions for the new member of the group.

"Questions can come later," the short black hair teen stated in a fierce tone of voice. Trent knew better than to challenge her. "Right now, let's talk about Ichigo party."  
>"I told you, I'm not having a party!" Ichigo argued.<p>

"Ichigo, we told you we'll take care of everything," Renji rebuttaled.

"I told you I am not having a party! My old man will kill me if he found out," the orange hair teen reinstated his argument.

"In hindsight," Uryu said, "you probably should not have told those two that you would be home alone this weekend."

"I know," Ichigo sighed. "I realized it when it was to late."  
>"Come on Ichigo," Rangiku coaxed, "have a little fun once in a while."<p>

"I'll help you clean up afterward Kurosaki-san," Orihime told him.

"You do not have to do that," he tried to tell her.

"It'll be fun," she smiled at him. Ichigo felt his resolve break down a little.

"If it makes you feel better," Yumichika chimed in, "We'll keep it small."

"Yeah," Ikkaku agreed, "It'll only be the people here a couple more from our class."

"I don't want to have a party!" Ichigo tried to make his intentions clear. He knew he was failing, but he was a fighter.

"Of course your invited Trent," Rukia told the guy who was now sitting next to her.

"Oh no," Trent tried to decline, "I do not want to impose. Beside, Ichigo said he did not want a party. So you cannot force him to have one." Ichigo shot him a look of gratitude.

"You don't have a choice," Renji told him. "Rukia is stubborn."

"Who are you calling stubborn?" she shouted at the read-head.

"You!" he shouted back. "You are stubborn."

"Kid," Trent heard a female voice from behind. An arm wrapped around his neck, "you have a lot to learn." Rangiku smiled at him. The arguments continued for sometime. Trent noticed that Ichigo, Renji, and Rukia were quite hot-headed.

"Fine!" Ichigo shouted as he slammed on the table. "We'll have that stupid party! Just make sure it doesn't last too long!" A slight cheer was heard amongst the group. Ichigo sat back down and sighed.

"I'm sure it'll be fun Ichigo." Trent gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Whatever," he responded. He gave a faint smirk back to Trent, making sure that the teen knew it he was not upset with him.


	3. The Challenge and the Set Up

A/N: Sorry it took so long guys. A lot of big changes have been going down at work, leaving me with little time to write. I know that no excuse, but this story is not dead! Chapter three turned out bigger than expected so its being split into two chapters. I'll post this part right now, and come back and edit it soon. Enjoy!

**Chapter 03:**

**The Challenge and the Set Up!  
><strong>

Friday had finally arrive, and Ichigo could not have been happier. It has been a long and eventful week, and it was finally coming to an end. Although, the orange hair teen had felt like this week has lasted forever. All he really remembers was that too students transferred to his class, and next thing he knew, he was throwing a party. Sometimes, he wonders how Rukia and Renji managed to convince him to do such a thing. As for Trent, Ichigo felt he acclimatized to the group rather well, and rather fast. It was astonishing to see how one boy managed to have something to talk about with each member. However, Ichigo felt like he was faking some parts, but he was not going to call him out on it.

Lunch had finally arrived and the usual gang met on the roof. The wind was blowing a gentle breeze, dancing with the long hair of several members. An assortment of food was placed on the crowed table, and everyone was busy eating and talking. Well, all except for a particular member. Ichigo was leaning against the edge of the roof mindless staring off into space, not really paying attention to what was going on and being said around him.

"Is everything alright Kurosaki-kun?" one of the women with long orange hair inquired.

"Everything fine Orihime," he responded without making eye contact. He shifted his position so that his arms rested on the ledge and he was over looking the courtyard. Students littered the area. Groups sat under the shady trees, played sports, or just walked around. Ichigo kept scanning the particular area for no real reason. Orihime turned around and gave her attention back to the group. She knew better than to pry when he got "distracted" like this.

"Bingo," Ichigo muttered when a flash of blue caught his eye. He strighten himself out and rushed to the door.

"Where are you going Ichigo?" Rukia called out as he rushed past. He may or may not have responded, no one knows for certain. After all, with the speed he left at, he might as well have been a blur.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Renji shouted. Everyone turned their attention to see the red head face plant into the table. Rukia helped him up and started to check him out, making sure he was okay.

"What happened?" she wondered.

"It might have something to do with that," Tatsuki pointed at a soccer ball that was casually rolling away.

"Something tells me," Trent lets out a sigh as he points down to a group of people, "that they are the ones responsible." The group peers over the ledge to see a group of people with unique hair color themselves staring back at them. Since they were so high up, it was hard to make out any distinguishing traits.

"Toss the ball down!" a rough male voice demanded.

"Like hell we will!" Renji responded with anger rising in his voice.

"Calm down Abarai-san," Shuhei suggested but to no avail.

"If you want your ball back, come up here and get it!" the fiery red head continued. He had a look of malice in his eyes. Whoever was responsible for this was going to be torn a new one, they can count on it.

**Red VS Blue**

Ichigo made it out to the courtyard in record time. Running down three flights of stairs in less than a minute is noting short of a miracle. He paused to catch his breath and started to scan the area for any signs of blue hair, but nothing caught his attention. The teen let out a sigh, getting reading to give up, until a certain rough sound caught his attention.

"That voice," the orange hair teen gasped. He quickly turned his head to see a tuff of blue in the distance, slowly getting father and father away. Ichigo started for a moment to confirm his suspicion. "Why is he heading towards the greenhouse?" The teen began to head towards the direction of where he saw the blue hair man. After all, he could either stand there and ask questions all day, or he could go and find out for himself.

**Red VS Blue**

The door to the roof busted open quickly getting everyone's attention. All eyes stared at the leg that slowly retracted into the darkness. Moments after a group of five people came walking through the entrance and towards the group. The was only on female in the group. She had tan skin, blonde hair and blue eyes. In addition, she was quite statuesque and a big rack to boot. She stood next to a stoic man with jet black hair and glowing green eyes. His height seemed to rivals the girl who he was standing next to. On the other side of the group was a short but quite built man with tan skin and dark color eyes. His had was shaven clean, yet he had a long, flowing black pony tail. Adjacent to him was a tall and slender man with long pink hair and yellow rimmed glasses. Finally in the center of the group was a tall and lanky man with long black hair and dark eyes. He easily towered over the rest of his group and quite possibly everyone who was currently on the roof.

"Give us the ball you punks!" the tower demanded. No introductions, no small talk, no pleasantries, no nothing. He request was quick and to the point.

"That's a bold statement," Ikkaku chuckled, "coming from a bunch of delinquents like yourselves!"

"Who are you calling delinquents?" the stoic one questioned. There was a bit of offensive detectable in his voice. "In fact, your group si the one who cannot follow simple rules."

"Simple rules?" Yumachika asked. "Explain yourself." The one with the green eyes cleared his throat, but was interrupted by the male with the pick hair.

"School rules state that students are not permitted on the roof at anytime. The only excepts are those that are laid out by the principle for special events and club use." The pink hair male quickly scanned the group. "I think you of all people should not be braking rules, eh Soccer Team Captain, Renji Abarai?"

"So which one is the captain?" The tall lanky one inquired. The statement spoken by his friend perked his interested.

"That would be me," Renji spoke up. A sense of challenge filled the air. "Take your stupid ball back!" The long red-headed male dropped the ball. It slowly descended. With a swift strike, Renji sent it flying to the tall male. The lanky man caught it with relative ease.

"Is that it?" the tower of a man laughed. "That was pathetic, especially for the team captain." Renji grimaced as he clenched his fist in anger.

"Abarai-san," Shuhei tried to soothe the captain, "don't let him agitate you."

"That is pretty big talk," Trent stated, much to everyone surprise. After all, he did not seem like the type to try to instigate trouble.

"Watch your mouth punk!" the tall man warned him. "Who do you think I am?"

"I'm not sure," he continued, "you did not introduce yourself like any decent human would."

"Suh-nap," Rangiku giggled.

'Damn," Ikkaku muttered to Yumichika, "I'm starting to like this kid more and more." The tower of a man glared at Trent, but did not know how to respond.

"My name is Nnoitra Gilga," he scowled as he mentioned his name, obviously not wanting this boy to know who he was, "who the hell are you?"

"Name Trent Nocturne," he introduced himself.

"Aren't you the student who transferred at the same time we did?" the blond hair female and the only female of Nnoitra group, asked.

"So you guys are the ones who transferred from Hueco Mundo High," Rukia announced as she reached an epiphany, "I knew I haven't seen you guys around before."

"They would be pretty hard to miss," Uryu added as he adjusted his glasses.

**Red VS Blue**

"Kurosaki!" the blue hair male shouted the moment the Ichigo entered the greenhouse, "what the hell are you doing in here?"

"I can ask you the same thing," the orange hair teen retorted.

"Did you follow me or something?" Grimmjow pushed the issue, "No one knows I come here!"

"No I did not follow you!" Ichigo defended. He did not know what there is to say in this situation. Honestly, he did not plan for the conversation to take this turn. "So," he continued in a calm tone of voice, "why do you come here."

"Its none of your damn business!" That response irked the orange hair boy, but he was not going to let it show.

"It's interesting actually."

"Why's that?"

"Well all of your friends have been transferred here as well, yet you don't want to hang out with them."

"I could care less about them. I was going to transfer here regardless."

"Why did you transfer?"

"Are you stupid or something? My family had to move since my pop's job relocated him."

"Okay," Ichigo defended, "chill out! I was making sure that wasn't a cover story!"

"Cover story? What, you think I'm some kind of punk delinquent?"

"You might be. After all, your group of friends look like gang-bangers. Also, your blue hair just screams trouble."

"My friends look like gang-bangers?" a grin grew across Grimmjow's face. "For the record, my hair is naturally blue. It invites trouble all on its own. You of all people should be able to relate," the blue hair teen chuckled as he tossed the other teen's hair.

"Cut that out!"

"Fine, but I know you enjoyed it. So really, what are you doing here?"

"Well I'm throwing a party tomorrow and wonder if you would like to come."

"Not interested," the taller man shot the other down. With a sigh he let out a breath.

"Wait!" the orange hair teen called out. He grabbed Grimmjow's arm.

"What do you want now?"

"Take this," Ichigo slipped a piece of paper into the other person's hand. "Its my number."

"Why would I want this?"

"You know, just in case you change your mind."

"I won't," the blue hair teen let out a sigh, "but I'll hang onto it just in case." After all that was said, Grimmjow walked out.

**Red VS Blue**

"My team can take you on, anytime, anywhere!" Renji announced as he butted heads with the tall, lanky teen in front of him.

"All I'm hearing is a small man talking big," Nnoitra mocked, causing the red-headed teen to growl. "Your nothing without your precious soccer team backing you up."

"I don't need my team!" he defended. "My friends are more than capable of crushing you and your posse!"

"Please," the tall teen laughed, "my group is far superior than your ragtag group of misfits. We'll crush you hands down. We'll crush you so hard, we won't even break a sweat!"

"Then put up or shut-up!" Trent interjected.

"We can continue going on back and forth like this," Ikkaku added, "or we can actually do something about it."

"What do you have in mind," the man with the long pink hair humored.

"We play!" the cue-ball declared.

"Alright, sounds like a plan," both Renji and Nnoitra agreed. Before anything else could be said by anyone, the school bell rang signally the time to return to class.

"Hall will be in touch so we can set up the date and rules," the lengthy teen mentioned before him and his group departed.

The final bell of the day had rung and most students had left the class room within minutes. All that remained were two orange-hair teens, and one spunky girl with raven colored hair.

"It seems that I missed something big," Ichigo commented as he swept the classroom. He hated when he was assigned cleaning duty.

"You did," Rukia was quick to agree. "Perhaps if you were there, Renji would not have lost his cool so easily."

"Your so funny Kuchiki-san," Orihime giggled. "I think if Kurosaki-kun was there, they both would have lost their cool faster."

"You have a point there Orihime," she couldn't argue with that logic. A scowl grew on Ichigo face. Just as he was about to open his mouth and say something, he was quickly interrupted with the change in topic.

"So you ready for your big party tomorrow?" Orihime inquired.  
>"For the most part," he answered, "but I do have some last minute cleaning I need done."<p>

"I would go over tomorrow and help you," the orange hair girl confessed, "but I'll be to busy preparing food and some snacks." Ichigo gulped, he was afraid of what horrors she might concoct.  
>"I'll be with her all day tomorrow cooking as well," Rukia mentioned, hoping to cause some relief, "so I won't be able to help either."<br>"It's fine," Ichigo sighed, "I can handle it. After all, you went through the trouble of arranging everything, it's the least I can do."

"Is that sarcasm I detect?" the raven hair girl asked.

"No, whatever gave you that idea?" the male remarked, making sure his sarcasm came out nice and clear.

"So everyone will start getting there around five," Rukia told him, not responding to the sarcasm this time around. "Don't worry, it won't go _that_ late into the night. Just make sure you have the hot tub all nice and ready."

"I don't have a hot tub," Ichigo stated.  
>"Yes you do," Orihime mentioned, "its situated rigt behind the clinic."<p>

"You mean the one my dad uses for physical therapy patients?" he asked.

"That the one," Rukia pointed out, "I'm sure your dad won't mind us using it for one night."  
>"Just like your sure my dad won' mind us having a party when he gone," Ichigo retorted.<br>"Would you rather have a party when your dad is there?" she inquired. Ichigo let out another sigh. She did make a good point. A **very **good point. The three teen quickly finished cleaning the classroom and departed from the school.

Relaxing sun rays shone through Ichigo's window, smacking him dead in the face. He woke up with a groan. It was early in the morning, yet it was already bright outside. The teen check his clock. He could not make out the time since his eyes still had the waking up blur. All he could tell is that he is up too early for a Saturday. The boy made the motions out of bed. As much as he would like to stay in and sleep longer, he had stuff that he actually needed to do today. Most importantly, he had to make sure everything was nice, clean, and set up for the party that is suppose to go down later tonight. Much to his relief, Rukia, Orihime, and even Renji promised they'll take care of everything, as long as Ichigo had everything set up for them. It seemed like an even trade, considering they kinda forced him into this. Ichigo changed into a pair of red basket ball shorts and a white muscle shirt that compliment his body. Since he was going to be cleaning, might as well wear clothes that he did not mind getting dirty, right?

The orange hair teen spent several hours cleaning his house and setting things up for when his friends come over and visit. His room was spotless so guest could enjoy watching movies. Down stairs, the living room has been set up for video games and karaoke per Renji's request. The kitchen and dinner room has been arranged for when the girls bring over the food. This way the guest can have easy access to the food, and last minutes cooking can go down as well. Knowing Orihime, she would want to add something more to whatever creation she would be bringing. Last but not least the hot tub in the back yard has been set up and should be ready by the time the party starts. Ichigo let out a sigh of relief and accomplishment. He glanced at the clock on the wall.

"Three thirty," he read. "Time for a nice relaxing shower. Knowing the girls, they will be here earlier than the start time." He quickly darted up the stairs to clean up. The boy quickly got undressed and turned on his shower. As soon as he was about to set in, his phone with off. Ichigo walked over to the sink and saw it was a text message.

"Thank god," he muttered. He did not want to talk on the phone just yet. With a press of a few button, the orange hair teen read the message:

_On our way. Be there in a few. - Rukia_

Ichigo sighed, knowing he was right.

_Cool. Door will be open._

After his reply, the boy jumped back into the shower to start cleaning off. About five minutes into the shower he heard his door open and close. He knew it must be the girls, so he didn't rush to get out of the shower.

Nearly half an hour later, Ichigo fully clean and dressed went down the stairs and heard a noise coming from the kitchen.

"Rangiku-san, stop," a girl with a frail voice cried out.

"I can't help it," an older woman with a much more stern voice answered, "I just want it so bad."

"No means no," another stern, but not as strong voice warned.

"Come on," the older woman's voice protested, "I'm the only one who ends up liking it anyways."  
>"That's not true!" the frail voice denied. A similar exchange went on for quite a while until the girls noticed Ichigo standing in the doorway. They were caught in an almost compromising position. Orihime had her back against the stove with Rangiku positioned on top of her, almost in a groping position. Rukia had her hands on both girls, trying to pull them off of each other.<p>

"You know," Ichigo chuckled, "most guys will love to see something like this. Me, I'm used to seeing this on a regular basis."

"You know," Rukia responded, "that the kind of comment I would expect from Renji."

"Well they are best friend, so they are bound to rub off on one another," Rangiku pointed out.


	4. The Party and the Incident

A/N: Happy New Year everyone! Sorry its taken long to post a chapter. I wrote part of this and then school and life got in the way. Then I was hit with writer's block. I would also like to apologize if this seems rushed. I didn't detail this too much on my outline, so I only hit the main points. After all, it was fresh in my mind at that time. That why the pacing is kind of weird. Thank you everyone for your understanding, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Also, I haven't wrote for fun in a while, so this might seem kind of awkward.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4: The Party and the Incident<strong>

Not soon after Ichigo was ready, the doorbell began to ring off the hook. The part was officially set in motion and the guests were starting to arrive. The first pair were Chad and Uryru, dressed in some nice, yet casual clothing. In the tall, dark, and muscular man's arm was a medium sized, brown paper bag. Good guy Chad, bringing a small amount of food and snacks, since the girls promised they would provide the food.

"In case of an Orihime emergency," Uryru stated as he fixed his glasses. The two boys pushed past Ichigo and let themselves in. Within moments of closing the door, the doorbell chimed again. This time, it was a short, spiky white hair boy, with frozen blue eyes. He was standing next to an equally short girl with long black hair tied back in a bun.

"Kurosaki," the white hair boy said.

"Toshiro?" he inquired.

"Matsumoto," he answered, knowing what the orange hair boy was going to ask.

"Is that Hinomori?" Rangiku shouted from the kitchen, obliviously from hearing Hitsugaya voice. She came to the door and embraced the young man. "Finally made you move?" she whispered in his ear. He turned slightly red and began to struggle, trying to free himself from her vice-like embrace.

"I'm here to enjoy the party, and thought I'll bring her along," he answered, still with a slight blush.

"Thanks for letting Shiro-kun invite my Kurosaki-san," Hinamori smiled.

"Sure, its not a problem," he answered. Rukia must have given the go ahead to bring a guest. The two underclassmen walk though the door. Not long after, everyone else arrived and the party was in full swing.

Catchy pop music play throughout the whole downstairs of the house. Most of the guys gather around the television, playing video games, and trading off whenever someone loss. Every few seconds you can hear 'oooooo's and 'ahhhs' and other miscellaneous background noise most guys make when playing games. In addition, a few angry shouts could be heard as well. However, not all the guys were playing video games. The girls were in the kitchen, non stereo-typically might I add, gossiping and doing whatever it is that girls do at parties. They were talking about their friends, the ones at the party, and just news they heard around the campus. Even though they practically hang out everyday at school for lunch, they never had time to just hang out casually like this. Upstairs, was quite. A few people were in Ichigo's bedroom watching different movies of various genres. Outside was a different story, as two lone figures stood outside the house and away from any windows.

"So are you going to go in?" a young man with gray eyes inquired. He glanced over to the male that seemed to tower over him. Blue hair rustled in the slight breeze.

"Haven't made up my mind yet," the other male answered, albeit a bit rudely, "what about you?"

"Same here," the first male sighed, "I only just came to this country."

"You should go in."

"As should you."

"I'm serious, you can use all the friends and social interaction you can get."

"That's mean," the dark hair teen chuckled. "Although, you do have a point. What about you? Don't you want to hang out with the others?"

"The others?" the teal hair man laughed, "what a joke!" With that said he walked off.

"There something up with him," the dark hair teen thought to himself as he slowly walked to the door. "Should I tell Ichigo I saw him here?" The teen pondered. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

**Red VS Blue**

The party was bigger and wilder than Ichigo has anticipated. Even with his tight-nit group of friends this could be considered out of hand. Sometimes the orange hair boy wondered how he had made so many friends. Of course, a couple of people brought a friend or two, like Toshiro. He brought his girlfriend, Hinomori. It was actually kind of cute how the ice boy referred to her as Momo. It did not matter where a person went, since there was always something going in every corner of the house. Well, at least in the rooms people were allowed in. Despite all this activity, the one person Ichigo was hoping to show up did not. There was not any sign that he even considered dropping by. To make matters worse, even though the berry gave the blueberry his phone number, it was not an even trade. So there was no hope of even contacting him. This was infuriating, why was the boy constantly thinking about him? There was no logical reason.

"Excuse me," a voice brought Ichigo back to reality.

"Oh, Trent," he said in a surprisingly calm manner, "having fun?" Trent simply nodded at the question.

"Thank you for inviting me," he expressed his gratitude. "It's getting late so I must return to my host family."

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," he responded while scratching the back of your head. "Oh, did you have any trouble finding the place? I know your new, so I wasn't sure if you knew your way around."

"Oh its true," the black hair teen smirked, "I get lost walking in a straight line. However, I had some help getting here."

"Really? You came by yourself. Did you ask for directions."

"Not exactly. Jaegerjaquez walked me here." In an instant Ichigo's eye lit up and grabbed the other teen by the shoulders.

"Why didn't he come in here with you?" Ichigo asked, but there was some aggression in his tone of voice.

"I can't give you a definite answer," Trent confessed. He saw the crestfallen expression that took over the party's host. "All he said was "The others? What a joke!" So I think he was referring to your friends," Trent tried to recover the situation, hoping to at least lift the other person's spirits. It seemed to work as the default expression reclaimed Ichigo's face.

"Yo Trent! Ready to head out?" a smooth male voice inquired.

"Oh, sure thing Hisagi!" Trent responded. Ichigo gave a puzzled looked to the other teen. "He going to walk me home. It late, and I don't know how to get home yet."

"Alright, have a good night," Ichigo nodded, "be safe, and thanks for coming."

"Thanks for having me!"

Soon after Trent and Shuhei took off, the majority of the party left as well.

**Red VS Blue**

"Now that all the scary people have left," Rangiku laughed, signaling that bad things will soon follow, "its time for the real party to begin!" The remainder of the group gather around the table. In total, all that remained was Yumichika, Ikkaku, Renji, Ichigo, Rukia, and of course, the instigator herself. She placed a bottle on the table. "Okay kiddies," she beemed, "we're going to play Truth or Dare, Spin the Bottle style! There no backing out!"

"There no way we're playing this game!" Ichigo protested.

"Oh Ichi," Yumichika pleaded, "don't be such a prude."

"Yeah, get that stick out of your ass!" Ikkaku ordered.

"Watch out Ikkaku!" Renji warned with a devilish grin, "or he might pull it out and beat you with it!"  
>"Keep that up Renji, and you'll be next!" Rukia added.<p>

"Fine, I'll play!" Ichigo agreed, but was not too happy about it. Since Rangiku suggested this activity, there was no way this was going to have a happy ending.

"Then let's begin!" Rangiku cheered. She spun the bottle. Everyone watched as it spun. With each spin the speed decreased, raising the tension. Having her go first was not the wises decision in the world. "Okay Rukia," she spoke the moment the bottle stopped, "Truth or dare?"

**Red VS Blue**

Almost an hour has passed by and the game escalated rather quickly. After playing a few rounds with everyone safely picking truth, Rangiku declared that everyone one must start picking dare. They started off innocently enough, but soon became ridiculous and somewhat silly at times.

"Alright," Rangiku announced, "this is the last one for the night, then the rest of us have to go home."

"Finally," Ichigo scoffed. It was close to midnight and the boy still had to clean up in the morning before his family came home.

"Regardless," Yumachika sighed in content, "it has been an interesting night." He spun the bottle and it landed on Ichigo. Yumachika and Ikkaku both let out a dangerous laugh.

"I don't like the sound of that!" Ichigo panicked.

"Ichigo," Yumachika started.

"That's it! Everyone out!"

"I dare you..."

"Everyone! Out! Now!"

"To play seven minutes in heaven..."  
>"Everyone get out!"<p>

"With Renji." The room fell silent.

"Hold on Yumichika!" Rukia broke the silence, "you can't do that!"

"He was dared," Ikkaku immediately came to the defense of his best friend.

"He my boyfriend!" she argued. "He is off limits!"

"Its fine Rukia," Renji let out a sigh.

"No! It is not fine!" she snapped back.

"Calm down Rukia," Rangiku sighed, "he doesn't seem to have a problem with that."

"Would you rather I go in a closet with someone else here?" Renji questioned.

"I rather you not go in the closet at all!" she protested.

"Sorry honey. You all agreed to the rules," Rangiku had to remind everyone.

"Fine!" she slammed her hands on the table. "Seven minutes! Not a second more." Renji grabbed the quite Ichigo by the arm and dragged him to a nearby closet.

"Seven minutes start now!" the blonde instigator timed the moment the door was closed.

**Red VS Blue**

It was dark in the closet, which would have been pretty obvious to those in it. The space inside was rather cramped. It was a mystery how both Ichigo and Renji managed to fit into a tight area. However, it was cramped inside so their bodies were pressing up against each other, but they still had a decent amount of personal space.

"Uh Renji," Ichigo softly spoke.

"Yeah Ichi?"

"I've never kissed anyone before." the orange hair boy confessed.

"Really? The bad boy of Karakura High has never kissed a girl?" Renji mocked.

"Shut up!"

"Come on. You had to at least given a smooch or two to Orihime."

"Don't bring her up. She innocent."

"Come on Ichi. She practically throwing herself at you. You haven't notice?"

"I don't like her that way!"

"Really?"

"Yeah," he let out a sigh, "she like a sister to me."

"Three minutes left!" Rangiku warned in a sign song voice.

"Then let me be your first kiss," the red-head offered. Ichigo wanted to say something bad, or at least fight back, but there was sincerity in his voice.

"You mean it?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Well its gets easier after the first," he explained, "plus wouldn't you rather have it be with someone you trust?"

"Why did his voice get softer?" Ichigo thought to himself, "is he embarrassed " The orange hair teen would bet his life that Renji's face would be as red as his hair if he could see it right now. Then out of the blue he felt a warm sensation on his lift. It was soft, kind of plump, but definitely warm. The boy closed his eyes, enjoying the moment. He felt the other teen's body pressed up against his. The orange hair teen's heartbeat started to increase. It was not rapid, but it was close. The room was getting warmer as well, but in an instant it was all taken away.

"Well," Renji voice broke the silence, "how was it?"

"Times up!" Rangiku announced. The door swung open and light filled the small dark space.

"Well?" Rukia asked, although she still seemed annoyed. The seven minutes probably added to her annoyance and anger.

"How was it?" Everyone practically interrogated as the teens left the closet.

"Rukia was right," Ichigo smirked. "Renji is a bad kisser." The whole room laughed. Even Renji let out a chuckled when Ichigo turned his head to wink at the red-head.

**Red VS Blue**

Ichigo's residents was empty within fifteen minutes after the last round of Rangiku's game. The orange hair teen was rather tired. He locked up and promised to clean up when he wakes up in the morning. After turning off the light, he laid on his bed.

_BZZZT_

Ichigo's phone vibrated on the bed. He lazily reached for it. The teen flipped it open, almost getting blinded by the phone's light. A picture on a envelope was on the screen.

"I don't recognize this number," he thought. Disregarding his though, he pressed the READ button.

_Sup Berry ;)_


	5. The Correspondent and the Meeting

Author note: Sorry its been so long, you know college and work. Speaking of which, finals are coming up. This chapter is going to be short since I did not like the second half and decided to rewrite it.

**Chapter 5: The Correspondent and the Meet Up**

*Ba-dum *Ba-dum

"It's just a text message right? Why does it have this effect?" Ichigo wondered. He placed a hand on his chest. It really felt like his heart was going a mile a minute. "Should I respond? How should I responds."

_This is Grimmjow, right?_

"What a stupid thing to ask," he cursed himself quietly. "Of course its him, who else calls me Berry?" He sighed and plopped down on his bed, placing his phone on his chest. Would he respond? Did that question just end the conversation? He let out a sigh, the only thing he can do now is wait.

_Who the hell do you think this is?_

The pressure in Ichigo's chest released a little as he let out a slight chuckle.

_Just checking._

_Who the hell did you think this was?_

_No idea, that why I asked!_

_How often do you give your number out?_

_I totally give it out all the time._

_Don't give me attitude Berry! I'll kick your ass!_

_I'll like to see you try!_

_Don't tease me! You might start something you can't finish!_

_What do you want! _

_Meet me in the park._

_When?_

_Right now!_

_What? You can't be serious! My party just finished and I'm tired!_

_So what? I patiently waited for it to finish! I should be rewarded._

_What?_

_Park! Now!_

_No!_

_I'm not asking Kurosaki!_

…

_Meet you there!_

"Why does he want to meet me at the park at this hour?" Ichigo wondered. He slowly got out of bed and started going through the motions. Within minutes, he left his house.

It only took Ichigo roughly fifteen minutes to get to Karakura park. The moon was full and gently hanging in the sky, illuminating. However, this beautiful night barely provided any visibility. There, in the distance, he saw a wave of blue hair that softly reflected the light. The hair quietly flowed back and forth, beckoning to the orange-hair teen. Like a siren calling, Ichigo's legs just walked him forward.

"Yo Berry! I didn't think you would show," a snarky male voice teased.

"Well," Ichigo muttered, "I was tempted to blow you off."

"Why would you want to hurt that way Berry?" The tone in his voice indicated that he was hurt, but overall still teasing. A light chuckle escaped from the other man.

"So why did you call me out here Grimmjow?" Ichigo inquired.  
>"Straight to the point I see," he laughed again. "Take a seat on the swing next to me. I just want to talk."<p>

"You don't seem like the talking type to me."

"Well I do have an image to up hold. So how was your lame ass party?"

"It went good. You should have gone."

"Nah, I'm not too fond of your friends, and they're not too fond of me."

"How can you say that? You haven't even met them yet. You just transferred to this school!"

"First impressions and all that."

"Well, at least you stopped by."

"Did I now? What makes you say that?"

"Trent. He told me that you walked him to my house."

"Oh that," the blue hair teen nervously chuckled. "That kid would have never made it to your party without help." The two teen let out a whole-hearted laugh.

"So really Grimmjow," Ichigo sighed, "why did you call me out here so late."

"As I said, I just wanted to see you." The orange-hair teen could hear a smile in the other's voice. "Beside, I know you wanted to see me as well."

"Whoa!" Ichio slightly panicked. "Dial it down a bit. There is no way I wanted to see you."

"What the hell are you talking about?" the blue-hair teen laughed. "You came out to see me in the middle of the night!"  
>"That means nothing," Ichigo blushed as red as his name. He jumped from the swing to better hide his face, knowing that the light of the moon would highlight it.<p>

"There also the fact that you been spying on me from the rooftop with your friends," Grimmjow added as he stood up.

"I wasn't spying on you," Ichigo defended profusely. A hand reached out, forcing Ichigo's head to turn. Face still red, his chocolate brown eyes locked with Grimmjow's deep blue ones.

"Call it whatever you like," the blue hair teen's voice got a bit raspy.

*Ba-dum

Ichigo's heart began to race. Without time to respond Grimmjow's lips were pressed against his own. Ichigo closed his eyes and let his body be wrapped up in the passion. There was no fighting, no struggling, no rejection. His body treated this kiss like some sort of life support. Within a second, the feeling was gone.

"I'm just glad you did it," he said with the biggest smile on his face. Ichigo was too stunned to move, but he can still feel that his face is bright red. "My little Berry." Grimmjow tousled Ichigo's hair, snapping the boy out of his daze.

**Red VS Blue**

Back at the Kuchiki manor Renji joined Rukia sitting on her bed. Both pretty worn out from the day activities. There is something about a party that can wear someone out.

"So dish," the ravenette commanded.

"Dish what?" the red-headed teen inquired. He knew, but was trying to do his best.

"You know!"

"Do I?"  
>"Yes, now spill it!"<p>

"I do not even know what your talking about," Renji acted clueless.

"Come on, you know what I am talking about!" Rukia raised her voice.

"You can't prove that. After all, your the one who says I'm a clueless idiot."

"Oh," she paused, "I only say that as a joke. You know that!"

"Of course I do." the red-headed boy laughed. He was soon met with a punch.

"Now answer me! What the better kisser? Me or Ichigo?"


	6. The Night and the Confusion

Author note: Here a small update. Been busy, but this story is not dead. Sorry for dragging out the party plot (and for any small errors you may see). I have forgotten and lost my outline so I have to come up with something new or at least try to recall. Thank you for your support!

**Chapter 6: The Night and the Confusion**

"Your little Berry?" Ichigo questioned as he smack Grimmjow's hand away. The light sound echo throughout the empty park. "That's a little too much." Those words barely escaped the boy's lips before he found himself lying on the ground. A pair of piercing blue eyes stared at him, but there was no malice behind them. "WHAT THE HELL?" Grimmjow let out a sigh. He offered his hand to the orange hair teen, but it was refused.

"Sorry," was all the blue hair teen could muttered. The look on his face did not give away any emotions.

"Why did you punch me?" Ichigo asked. The orange hair teen contemplated on getting up and returning the favor. His hand gripped tightly at the ground, causing blades of grass and grains of dirt to enter the enclosing area. Blue eyes continued to stare at the teen, causing his face to turn into a scowl. "Aren't you gonna answer me?" The tone in his voice conveyed feelings of anger and frustration.

"I don't know," the pair of blues eyes looked away with that answer. This was not even close to an answer Ichigo was looking for. In a split second, the teen was back on his feet. Hands gripped at a plain white tee shirt and furious brown eyes made contact with blue.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Grimmjow could tell that the teen was angry. Talk about over reacting. To be honest, he really did not know what he punched the strawberry teen. Especially after kissing him.

"I mean I don't know," Grimmjow shifted away from the gaze. He felt the grip loosen on his shirt, even if it was just slightly. "Its your fault."

"How is it my fault?" Ichigo questioned.

"Calm down and I'll explain," the blue hair teen said. He let out a sigh. He knew the other teen was pretty smart and down to Earth, so why does he over react to the slightest provocation?

"I am calm," Ichigo said, though his tone said otherwise. He released his grip and his hands slowly slid down the shirt, getting a slight feel of the other teen's body. He slowly parted away and the blue hair tee sat back down on a swing. He motioned of Ichigo sit next to him. The orange hair teen reluctantly plopped down next to the blue hair teen. The pair swung in silence for what felt like an eternity. Ichigo could feel his anxiety slowly building up. He was trying to keep his cool, but deep inside a storm was brewing. A sigh escaped from Grimmjow broke the silence. Ichigo gave the other man a look. One that told him to hurry the hell up!

"You," the blue hair teen said, "you make me feel confused." His eyes shifted to the sky, staring at the stars that glistened in the sky. Time was passing, since the light was not as bright as it used to be.

"How do I make you confused?"

"Well part of me wants to kiss you and do other dirty stuff to your body," Grimmjow confessed. Ichigo's eyes widened. This was not something he was expecting to hear, especially put so bluntly. "While another part of you irritates me and I just want to knock your lights out."

"I irritate you?" the brown eyed teen asked. The anger in his voice was masked by a hinge of pain. Ichigo stood up. He was about to take off but something caught his hand.

"Your a bit of a drama queen," Grimmjow said, never making eye contact with the boy. Brown eyes trailed down his arm and noticed that the blue hair teen's hand was locked with his. "You know that?"

"I've been told I anger quickly." A small smile appeared on Ichigo's face.

The next morning Ichigo awoke to sunlight smacking him straight on the face. His father and sisters would be coming home later tonight, so he has to get a jump on cleaning. The teen knew he would never live it down if his dad found out he threw a party. It bad enough he has an earlier than the average persons curfew, he did not need to add on to it. He fumbled downstairs, still tired from the previous night. In fact, he could not recall what time he actually went to bed. All he remember was coming home and crashing on his bed. He opened the hallway closet and a long pole came crashing down, smacking him on the face. It stung more than it should have.

"That's right," he said, "Grimmjow punched me."He let out a sigh and started to gather the supplies he needed for the job. Judging by a quick look around the house, he realized that some of his guests must have cleaned up a little before they left, or as Rangiku would put it, "the kiddies." It did not matter, after all, his job was now easier.

Ichigo spent the next few hours cleaning, making sure the house was spotless for Yuzu. She spends a lot of time doing the house work and she really deserved a break. While he was cleaning, he spent time reflecting on past events. In the span of one night, he kissed Renji, which made him feel really hot. However, the redhead was with Rukia, so that probably added some spice to the kiss. It was something akin to the forbidden fruit. Not soon after, he kissed Grimmjow. It was not just a kiss. Passion, lust, need, and other emotions were felt behind the kiss. Yet, it made him feel just as hot as Renji's kiss did.

"What is going on with me?"


	7. The Confusion and the Rumor

Author note: Sorry for the lack of updating. Life has gotten busy and rather real. I totally forgot about this story. I lost a good majority of my outline and notes, but there are still some that can help me keep life in this story. Hopefully. I do apologize in advance for the continuity errors. The main idea and plots are still there, but the smaller details from the previous chapters might be looked over. So take everything from this point on as the official cannon of this story. Everything previously is cannon, but if the details here overlap those, then the previous chapters get bunked down to non-essential cannon. This is hard to explain. If you have any questions regarding the story and the continuity issues, please don't hesitate to ask. Also, my writing has gotten better and worse, but I will do my best to keep it in the same style. So without further a do, I present the next installment.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7: The Confusion and the Rumor<strong>

"Hey Ichigo?" a male voice called out. "Are you okay?" Ichigo shook himself to attention. He looked ahead and saw a pair of gray eyes staring back into his.

"Yeah I'm fine," he lied. "Just tired is all." The orange hair teen stretched in an attempt to sell his story. Although, it was not a complete lie. The party and his mind over thinking everything did take toll on him. He honestly did not have a good night's rest since then. Now at school, it might be a little hard to focus. "Oh yeah, how did you enjoy the party?"

"The party?" the gray-eye teen blushed. "It was rather enjoyable. Thank you for inviting me." Ichigo saw the red on his face increase a little bit more. He must have had a lot of fun. The teen smirk a little. There a good chance he did not know his face was getting red. "I do apologize for not helping you clean up afterwards though. It just got so late…"

"Don't worry about it," the orange hair teen raised his hand to stop the boy from speaking.

"Yeah don't worry about it!" a loud voice boomed. An arm appeared around the gray eyed teen. Long red hair danced in front of his face. "Ichi here is used to picking up after people. Isn't that right Ichi?"

"Like hell Renji!" the orange hair teen retorted.

"Can you both be quite?" a girl with jet black hair requested. "It's a little too early for your lover quarrel!" She glanced at the two boys and a smile crept over her face.

"What with that smile?" the orange hair teen questioned.

"Oh, you know," she winked.

Before anymore words could be exchanged, the teacher had arrived in the room and immediately commanded everyone's attention. She began by going over announcements, but Ichigo felt his attention quickly drift away from what she was saying. Renji. Grimmjow. Both men, both kisses, kept replying in his head. It was an endless repeat. Both, were unusual. Both were a surprise. Yet, both felt right. Could he really like boys? There was no doubt in his mind that he could have any woman he wanted. Even Orihime constantly threw herself at him. However, girls never did anything for him. They never made him feel warm. They never made him feel the way those two men did. How exactly did he feel about them? The more time he spent thinking about these things, the less he understood.

**Red VS Blue**

The school bell rang, echoing through the room and immediately grabbing Ichigo's attention. It was already lunch time. He was spaced out through four classes. Did his teacher's notice? Did they try to snap him out of it? He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. It did not matter, not really. Even though the constant thinking was frustrating him, he was glad to be left to his own devices.

"Hey Trent, you busy?" he asked. He stood up, not even looking at the boy. He glanced around the room. Rukia and Renji were gone. So were Orihime and the others.

"No, I'm just going to grab some ramen and meet up with Hisagi…" he trailed off a bit at the last part. He sense that the orange hair teen was reaching out. Something like this can be considered a rare phenomenon, so he best not back away.

"I see," he muttered, barely audible. "Meet me on the roof after you grab your ramen. Okay?"

"Sure," he responded. He glanced at the back of the other teen head, trying to figure out what was on his mind. From the short time Trent got to know Ichigo, he noticed that the other teen always had a distant look. A look that showed he was constantly lost in thought. From this morning's encounter, those distant eyes looked more trouble than anything. "What kind of ramen would you like?"

"No thanks," the orange hair teen said. He started to walk out the door.

"Are you sure you wanted to meet on the roof?" Trent asked. Ichigo looked to see the boy walking towards him carrying to bowls of instant noodles. It would seem that the other teen brought him some ramen regardless of what he said. All the orange hair teen could do was laugh at this. "All the _cool_ kids like to hang out here." Trent handed Ichigo a bowl and a set of chopsticks. Ichigo gently placed them on the ledge and stared off into the vast blue sky.

"Thanks for the noodles."

"Don't mention it. I wasn't sure if you were going to eat or not so I got it just in case." Trent placed his bowl on the ledge and peeled off the lid. He placed it under the bowl and pulled out his chopsticks. Ichigo slowly followed suit. The boy noticed that the other teen wanted to speak, but was not sure what to say. No that is not it. He knew that Ichigo knew what he wanted to say. He was just having trouble finding the words. "I got you a beef bowl. It's the same one I eat." He let out a small smile. "For an instant meal, this one is rather delicious."

"Is that so?" the orange hair teen mused. He broke apart his chopsticks. It did smell very tempting. "I normally get the chicken."

"Chicken is too much of a wild card for me," Trent slurped. "My kanji reading ability is far from ideal. Since there are too many variations, my bad luck would have me picking something that is extremely spicy."

"Too hot to handle, huh?"

"Yeah, it would seem that way."

"Do you mind if I ask you a question? About the night of the party?"

"Is it about me and Hisagi?"

"No. Why would it be about that?" Ichigo questioned. He was a bit confused. This response was not something he was expecting.

"Apparently Rangiku started a rumor," Trent looked down. "No one will tell me what it is, but everyone is asking if it's true." Ichigo could not help but laugh at this statement.

"That's Rangiku for you," he continued to laugh for a few more seconds. "She once started a rumor that the only reason Rukia is dating Renji is that he is as close to me as she can get."

"Oh, so Rangiku is one of those girls. I get it now." Trent let out a sigh. He better not pay any more attention to the rumor. "So what was your question?"

"You told me that Grimmjow escorted you to my house, right?"

"I do recall that."

"How did you run into him exactly? I can't really imagine why he would be in your path, unless he actually planned on coming to the party." Trent paused for a second, then continued to slurp up his noodles for a minute. Even though the pause was semi-brief, it felt longer to Ichigo. The anxiety was slowly building up with each passing second. The teen felt like he would explode if he did not get an answer soon.

"I was wondering that myself actually," was his answer. Ichigo let out a deep sigh. That is not what he wanted to here. Trent let out a small cough, nearly chocking on his noodles, and continued to speak. "I told you about my bad sense of direction. I don't exaggerate when I tell people I can't walk in a straight line without getting lost." He knew this, why was the boy telling this to him again.

"You mentioned something about that at the party when I asked." Trent just nodded.

"I was walking to your party and I ended up in a less that reputable neighborhood. One that you wouldn't want to be caught off in. I was looking lost when I ran into him."

_ "Hey kid, what are you doing here?" a course voice demanded. Trent turned around and was met with blue hair and almost matching blue eyes. A small smile appeared across his face._

_"Jaegerjaquez," his voice whimpered. "I am glad I ran into someone I know."_

_"I told you for the last time! Call me Grimmjow! Now tell me, what are you doing here?"_

_"I got lost," he handed the paper to the other teen. "I can't find this address."_

_"Dumbass! You're on the wrong side of town!"_

_"I knew I would get lost, that why I left early, but I didn't think I would be this far off."_

_"You're pathetic, you know that?" Grimmjow let out a sigh, "I'll take you there. This is not a neighborhood you want to be in."_

_"Thank you!" Trent cheered. "Wait, if I wouldn't want to be here, then why are you here?"_

_"The other delinquents and I live in this neighborhood."_

"Other delinquents?" Ichigo wondered. "I know they come from the alternative school, but that a little harsh, don't you think?"

"His words, not mine." Trent defended. "Still I'm not sure why he would walk me clear across town. I know my sense of direction is bad, but I could have made it on my own. I feel bad for saying this, but he doesn't seem like the kind of person who is _that_ nice."

"I know what you mean," he orange hair teen agreed. He looked down and noticed that he had barely touched his noodles. If he didn't eat them soon, they would get cold and gross.

"Yo! Trent!" a voice called out. The two teen looked towards the direction is was coming from. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Hey Hisagi!" Trent waved. The third teen quickly joined up with the other two.

"What's going on here?" Shuhei asked, looking at the two teen.

"Not much," Ichigo answered. "Just shooting the breeze." The raven hair teen looked towards the gray eyes.

"What cha guys talking about?" he wondered.

"Boys," the gray eye boy answered bluntly. Shuehi glanced at the two teen again, and felt something was hanging in the air.

"Sorry," the raven hair teen nervously chuckled. "Didn't mean to interrupt."

"Nah, your fine," Ichigo said. He grabbed his ramen and started to speed walk towards the door. "Thanks for the girl talk Trent!" He turned to waved to the remaining teens, before disappearing from site.

"What were you guys really talking about?" Shuhei asked again. He was curious, if nothing else.

"Did you know there a rumor about us floating around?" Trent questioned.

"Yeah, Rangiku started it. What does that have to do with anything?"

"I kept asking around but no one would tell me what it is. All they ask if it's true or not. Since Ichigo is pretty blunt and honest, I decided to ask him." Trent frowned a bit, but made sure to not have it show. He did not care much for lying. Worse, he really did not like lying to Shuhei for some reason. However, what they talked about on the roof was Ichigo's business, even if it was didn't seem like much.

"Oh," Shuhei gasped. "Don't worry about that. It'll pass with the next rumor cycle." Trent shook his head, but smirk.

**Red VS Blue**

"Grimmjow lives in a rough neighborhood?" Ichigo mused as he slowly descended from the roof. "That would explain his rotten attitude. No that's not a right assumption. Sure a person's background plays into their attitude, but that doesn't expressly correlate. After all, why would he go out of his way to help Trent? Even if he felt sorry for the teen, that is going above and beyond the line of duty to help. There must be more to it. There has to be! He said he wasn't fond of my friends, based off their first impressions, yet he was still in the neighborhood. Sure, some of them are a bit of a handful at times. Renji for one, is a bit obnoxious, but is actually quite a good guy. You know, once you get to know him." The teen continued down the stairs, slowly eating the noodles. Nothing made sense to him, and to be honest, it was getting quite frustrating. What scared him the most was the fact that he was not getting frustrated over not having answers. That was something he was getting quite used to. No. What scared him, what _really_ scared him was the fact that he was getting all worked up about things relating to a _guy_. A guy! Ever since that kiss… Ever since those kisses, Ichigo's mind has been going a mile a minute.

"Hey Berry," a raspy voice greeted the teen as he opened the door to enter back into his year's hallway. Ichigo's chocolate brown eyes were met with crystal blue eyes. They were fierce, no getting around that. However, when the teen looked into the other's eyes, the fierceness seemed soft, almost like they were putting on an act, just to keep up appearances. "Thinking about me?"

"_Yes. Only non-stop ever since that kiss! I have questions. You make me feel confused. I need answers!_ No!" the orange hair teen lied. It was not a complete lie, per say. He was busy thinking about the situation, yeah, the situation.

"You liar!" Grimmjow smiled wildly. He knew the truth, but Ichigo was not going to give him the satisfaction.

"Why would I waste my time thinking about you?"

"That a shame," the blue hair teen pretended to frown and act hurt. "I've been thinking about you."

"Like I care," he tried to push past the other teen. This was something he was not ready to deal with. This was something he did not want to deal with right now.

"Well if you do _care_," the teen said, not turning around to face the other, "meet me at the same park tonight. Same time."

"Maybe I'll be there," Ichigo expressed, "maybe I won't."

"Be that way!" Grimmjow huffed. "Park! Tonight!" With the last sentenced uttered, the two teen went their separate ways.


	8. The Confusion and the Talk

**Chapter 8: The Confusion and the Talk**

The students of the class slowly trickled in from lunch as Ichigo took his own seat. The murmurs and general sound of chatting was not enough to drown out his thoughts. He finally found a little peace from his conversation with Trent. The answers were not quite what he was expecting, but it was enough to quell the thoughts, allowing him to focus. Then he had to run into Grimmjow the moment he finally had a break from his thoughts. That one encounter alone was enough to pull the trigger, firing his brain into over thinking yet again. Why was this man able to do that to him? The more he thought about everything, the more apparent the scowl on his face became. Normally he had a resting serious face, but he could feel the unpleasant look just consume his face. No! He needed to relax and not think about this anymore. Grimmjow wants to meet at the park tonight, there he will be able to get his answers. Well, at least he hoped. Then again, last time they met up in the park, they kissed. Would that mean tonight will end up like that as well?

"This is so frustrating!" Ichigo screamed. He looked around and saw that everyone was looking at him. He felt the room get silent. A moment passed before the whispering picked backed up. No doubt he was the topic of conversation now. Great, this is _exactly_ what needed right now. He let out a heavy sigh, there was no way he will be able to pay attention now. It's not too late. Class won't start for a few more minutes. Maybe he can hold up in the nurse's offices. Better yet, it'll be easier to just go on home. No, that won't do. If he were to show up home at this time of the day, his dad will be all up in his business. Well, more so than usual. He had to shoot down that plan right away. Nothing was worth dealing with his old man.

"There you are Ichi!" a familiar voice snapped the teen out of his thought. A much needed relief, so to speak. "I've been looking for you almost the whole lunch period."

"Sorry Renji," he said, though there wasn't any remorse to be detected in his voice.

"Whatever, it's fine," Renji huffed. "Where were you anyways? We were supposed to play soccer to get some practice in before our big game coming up!"

"Oh I was on the roof with Trent."

"On the roof with Trent huh?" the red head asked. The disbelief was quite apparent in this one. "Okay, just tell me, what exactly were you doing on the roof with Trent?"

"Just talking, nothing more."

"Just talking?" Renji asked. His voice got lower, almost like he was hurt by what Ichigo told him. Maybe he should not have pried. "Ichigo, I'm your best friend. If you need to talk, you know you can always come to me."

"It's not like that Renji. It wasn't anything serious," he responded, not sure who he was trying to convince, himself or Renji. "_How can I talk to you about my thoughts regarding another guy, who for some reason I am constantly thinking about? I don't understand this myself, and I doubt you will be able to help me._ Trent just wanted to ask me about the rumor that going around about him."

"You expect me to believe that?" Renji had a look of disbelief on his face. "So if I were to ask Trent right now, he would tell me the exact same thing?" What was he doing? Why is Ichigo talking to someone else bothering him this much? He converses with the women of the group all the time, so why is this anything different. Ichigo must be lying to him. Yeah, that's it, lying. Ichigo hardly lies, and when he does, it's usually about how he is feeling. Why else would his brain pick up on this and turn it into such a big deal. Ichigo's eyes narrowed into a glare. He was annoyed. Renji could tell. Not that he can blame the man. He is a little annoyed at himself for pulling something like this.

"Be my guess," Ichigo said in a serious tone of voice.

"Hey Trent!" Renji called out, getting the attention of the gray eye teen who just walked in with Orihime.

"Sup?" he responded, as if the red head was simply greeting him.

"Mind coming over here for a sec? I need to ask you something?"

"Am I in trouble?" Trent asked. "I didn't do anything you can prove!"

"No you're not in trouble," Renji blew, "now get your ass over here!" Trent hurried to the two teens. "We're you on the roof with Ichigo this afternoon?"

"Yeah," Trent answered, but was a little confused. Why was Renji asking about this? "We were talking. Oh my god. You guys made plans. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to keep him away for too long." He turned to the orange hair teen. "Did I get you in trouble? Oh I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

"Stop, stop its fine," Renji calmed the teen. "What were you guys talking about? I'm curious to see what kept him away for so long. _What are you doing Renji? This isn't you. You're reaching a point where you can't return from. Abort now! Abort! ABORT!" _

"Oh, just the rumor Rangiku started about Shuhei and me," Trent stated, in a similar manner that reminded Ichigo of what and how he told Shuhei.

"That's it?" the red head inquired. He felt like he was being lied to. "It's just Rangiku, so nothing to worry about there."

"See," Trent cut off the red head. "That what I'm talking about. No one would tell me what the rumor is, despite who I ask. They just tell me _it's Rangiku_ and _not to worry_ about it. The thing is, I want to know what it is at least. That why I went to Ichigo, he pretty straight forward about stuff. You ask, you get answers." Renji looked at Ichigo who just nodded. The orange hair teen then shifted his eyes to the other teen. Trent just gave a wink and a slight smirk. Ichigo needed to remember to thank Trent for providing not only a story for him to use, but a decently convincing support story to it.

"Calm down killer," Renji nervously chuckled. He did not want to set off the teen any more than he already did. "I can see why you went to Ichigo. I'm sorry for the doubt."

"Oh it's quite alright," Trent said. "It's my fault that I kept Ichigo away from his prior engagement. Next time I'll double check to make sure he is free."

"You don't have to do that. Now stop being so apologetic, your making me feel like I'm a bad guy."

"Oh Renji, your always the bad guy," Rukia chimed in, catching everyone off guard. Somehow she made it into the room without any of the teens noticing. When she wants to, she can be as sneaky as a ninja. "But we love you anyways."

"Geez," Renji scowled, "that sure makes me feel special."

"So what are you guys talking about?" she asked. "I noticed Renji and Ichigo looking uncomfortable the moment I entered the room. I knew that was a conversation I had to be part of."

"We're just talking about boys," Trent said. The blunt and directness caused Renji to give him a 'what the hell?' look. Ichigo gave a slight smirk, noting it was the same response he gave to Shuhei not too long ago.

"I wanna talk about boys," she giggled. Her eyes narrowed as she looked between the three boys. "Which boys are we talking about?"

"Shuhei and Trent, allegedly," the red head air quoted.

"Oh that silly rumor?" she tilted her head. She had hoped she stumbled into something more interesting to talk about. "I don't think either of them are the type to hook up, especially when they barely know each other."

"_That's what the rumor is?_" Trent thought to himself. He felt his face start to heat up. "_Relax Trent. Cannot act surprised to find out what the rumor is. We just told Renji that we asked Ichigo and he told us. Keep the story constant._ Yeah. I was curious about it myself since no one would tell me. I asked Ichigo about it, but for some reason it bothered Renji. So he been interrogating us since we got back."

"Oh really?" she inquired. She had a mischievous smirk sprawl across her face. One that warned of danger in the near future.

"Not interrogating!" Renji defended himself. "I was simply curious as to why Ichigo missed soccer during lunch time. We have a game coming up, so I think we should get as much practice in as we can. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Oh, that not the way it seemed," Trent countered.

Before the teen could continue their conversation, the bell rung. Everyone in the room took their seats as the first afternoon teacher walked in. Rukia glanced over at Renji, then over to Ichigo. She let out a sigh and glanced over to her boyfriend one last time.

"_Is that really all?"_ she wondered. She opened her book to follow along with the lecture, but could not help but wonder about Renji. _He's been different ever since that night. Is something bothering him?_

* * *

><p><strong>Red vs Blue<strong>

The finally bell rung signally the end of the school day. Ichigo gathered his things and was ready to go. He wanted to get home and relax a little bit before his late night meeting with Grimmjow. He was not sure whether or not he was really going to go. Then again, there was nothing that stopped him from going last time, so why would this time be any different? When he stood up, he was met with familiar red hair. He quickly cursed in his head, forgetting that he had soccer practice today. It was too late for him to back out. There no way Renji would forgive him for missing 'lunch practice' and actual practice in the same day. He would just have to suck it up and go. Who knows, maybe this might be the best way for him to get his mind off of things, at least for a couple of hours.

After practice, Ichigo immediately regretted going. Well, he regretted going the moment he stepped out on the field. His mind wasn't there at all. The drills were fine, anyone could mindlessly go through those no problems. However, when it came time for the practice game, Ichigo wasn't able to focus. He missed opportunities to score, easily block-able shots, and overall signals of communication with his teammates.

_"What the hell Ichigo?" Renji called out as another shot soared passed the orange hair teen. "Get your head in the game!" Ichigo just waived him off. He wasn't in the mood to get into another shouting match with the teen, not today. He pondered the repercussions he would face if he walked off the field right now. Though, he wouldn't mess up his team in that way. After all, there was a good chance if he walked off that field, he would be kicked out from playing in the next game. The same game Renji keep stressing about how important it is. _

The orange hair teen let out a sigh as put on his shoes. Today has been a rather long day for him. A day that needs to end. However, it was planning to get much longer. He still had his meeting with Grimmjow tonight as well. We thought about skipping out on it, but knowing that the blue hair Adonis was prone to violent outburst, that may not be in his best interest.

"Yo!" a voice called out. Ichigo turned around and was immediately met with red-hair. "Wanna grab a bite?"

"Sorry," the teen apologized. "I'm too tired. Gonna call it a day, head home and unwind a little."

"Then I'll walk with you part of the way."

"Aren't all the restaurants in the opposite direction of where I live?"

"Yes," the red head smirked. "Since you won't go with me, I decided to head over to Rukia's instead. I was going to hang out with her tonight anyways, so might as well show up early and have her feed me as well."

"Don't be in a pain in the ass to her!"

"Ah, don't worry I'm not. I'm a pain in the ass to her brother!"

"Something tells me you done this before," Ichigo let out a light chuckle. The two teen continued to walk towards Ichigo's house.

"Oh I've done it countless times. Rukia may yell at me, but I can tell she likes it. There a part of her that really enjoy taking care of me."

"Tell me about it. Rukia has a habit of doting on people. She does it to me quite a lot."

"She cares about you, Ichigo. You know how she gets. Even though I will deny it if you ever told anybody, but I care about you as well."

"I know Renji. Even though we are constantly fighting, I care about you too." The red hair teen's face went as bright as his hair. He was happy to hear this words from Ichigo. Why was he happy though? He knew this already. "Just like I care about all my friends." The look of embarrassment changed to one that looked hurt, but the teen quickly wiped it off his face. Why did it bother him so much that the other teen just thought of him as a friend? He knew this. The way they acted and treated each other, they were like brothers. Was there something more to this? No, that couldn't be it. It had to be the fact that he considered Ichigo a brother, while the other teen thought of him like a friend. Yes. That had to be what was bugging him. Renji let out a groan, causing the other to turn and look. The orange hair teen had a small smirk on his face, which in turn made one appear on Renji's.

"So you mind telling me what's on your mind?"

"Nothing is on my mind."

"Bull shit! You were distracted in class and _during_ practice. Something the matter, now fess up."

"I just being thinking about things. Noting to it."

"Things? You're going to have to be a little clearer on these _things_."

"It's nothing."

"Ichigo."

"Look, if I knew, I would tell you. Just random thoughts, random fragments, have been floating around in my head and I can't make sense of them. You know how I over think everything."

"Don't lie to me. Just tell me what's going on in that head of yours."

"Have I ever lied to you Renji?" The red head stood there for a moment before continuing to walk. There hasn't been one point in time that Ichigo has lied to him. Sure Ichigo kept things, many things, most things, to himself, but he has never _lied_ to him.

"No," Renji sighed. "Just know you can always talk to me. I've here for you. I might piss you off, but I'm here." The two teens stopped at the crossroads. "If not me, then there Rukia. She may annoy you too, but she does genuinely care for you as well."

"I know Renji…and thanks."

The two teens parted at the road and Renji sluggishly trotted over to Rukia's mansion. She did not live _too_ far from Ichigo place, but it was still quite a ways. You wouldn't know it from looking at her or the way she acted, but she came from a well to do family, so to speak. She always said that her brother was rich and she had nothing. She liked being independent and doing things on her own, but most of the time her brother would be over protective of her. Renji chuckled as he remembered his first time meeting Byakuya. The elder brother thought he was a ruffian and only was only after Rukia because she _had_ money. He even went as far as to offer him money to never see Rukia again. Renji declined of course. He even kept that exchange a secret from Rukia, which surprised Byakuya, and made him tolerate the red head a little. Well, a little will be stretching it. Truth be told, it was more like he was looking for any sign to get rid of the red head from Rukia's life, so he was always on his best behavior. It was tough at times considering Byakuya will go out of his way to try his patience.

After walking for almost a whole half hour, Renji arrived at the gated community where Rukia lived. The guard greet and let him pass in. After another five minutes, he arrived at the gate of the Kuchiki Manor. He pressed the buzzard. There was no sound for a good minute. He pressed the button again. He heard a sigh, followed by "come in." The lock on the gate came undone and the red head let himself in. As he walked up the driveway to the front of the doors, he was greeted by Rukia who was sitting on the porch swing.

"Sit," she said. She patted the seat next to her and Renji obliged. "We need to have a little chat.

* * *

><p><strong>Red vs Blue<strong>

The leaves slowly rustled in the breeze on the moonlit night. The light gently glittered off the metal poles of the play equipment in the park. On one particular item, the light danced on and off. It was a swing. A swing with a certain blue hair teen lazily swaying back and forth. He was still wearing the school uniform, though not in the proper way it was intended. Then again, that teen never wore his uniform the right way. It was just how he showed his individuality. That what a good portion of the students did at the school. Ichigo slowly shuffled to the empty swing next to the teen.

"Sup berry?" he said without looking at the other teen. "I'm surprised you showed."

"I thought about staying home," Ichigo bluntly stated. He slowly start swinging. "Though I probably would have regretted it."

"I'm glad you came," the first teen looked over. There was a gentleness to his voice. "I've been wanting to talk to you."

"Why didn't you text me?"

"It's something that has to be done in person."

"I see. So why not at school?"

"There's always people around. I'm not good around people. Especially large groups. Even the private areas of the school, there always a chance into running into somebody."

"Make sense. I've been wanting to talk to you as well."

"Really? Now that's a surprise."

"Why is that?"

"It seems like to me that you wanted nothing to do with me after that kiss the other night."

"Why did you think that?"

"No idea. I didn't over analyze it like you're about to." Ichigo looked down, he knew Grimmjow was right. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"You go first," Grimmjow turned away as Ichigo noticed from the corner of his eye. Did his face turn red? This was a side he wasn't used to seeing. Then again, he hardly had any interaction with him. Still, it was different and unexpected of a person with his reputation would have. "I am still trying to put what I want to say in words. From what I know about you, there a good chance you had time to think about this."

"Yeah, you could say that. I talked to Trent about the night of my party."

"I figured that brat would talk. I told him not to tell anybody." He let out a satisfied sighed. "Heh, it was more of a threat, maybe that why he spoke."

"I thought it was nice," Ichigo kicked his feet. "Apparently the warning he gives about his sense of direction must be true. Especially if you escorted him to my house."

"Oh that. The kid looked so lost and pathetic. I felt bad." Grimmjow wanted to say more as he looked over at Ichigo. He decided against it, at least for now. He wanted to gauge how much Trent told, and exactly how much Ichigo knew. "I know there more, so spill it."

"How did you know where I live?"

"Any idiot can read a map. That's not what you wanted to ask though."

"Why didn't you come in? I knew you were there, outside the house, and you probably hung around for a bit as well. I invited you, and you were welcomed. So, why?"

"I knew it," Grimmjow groaned. He didn't want to answer this question, but felt like the other teen may keep prodding until he got his answers. "Well, like I told you, I don't do well in large groups." Ichigo nodded to this statement.

"There more though."

"Yes, well I also felt like I wasn't welcomed. Not by you, but by your friends mainly. If someone like me showed up, that would have caused a big commotion."

"My friends wouldn't have cared."

"A few would have been bothered, especially that red head you're always hanging around."

"But…" Ichigo started but was cut off.

"Even if you told him I was _cool_ or whatever, he still would have resented it. There a good chance we would have butted heads, or he would have provoked me. Then a fight would have broken out, and he would have said _I told you so_, or something to that effect."

"You do raise a good point," Ichigo wanted to argue, but knew he was right. Renji would have done exactly that.

"Plus a part of me thought I shouldn't get involved with you. I have a bad reputation as it is. It came over from the other school, along with everyone else's. Plus I heard some rumors about you being a trouble maker. So if word got out we associated, those rumors may take a turn for the worse." Ichigo had to admit, he was touched. Someone he barely knew went out of their way to try to protect him. This was something he was not admittedly used to. Plus it came from Grimmjow of all people. Maybe he judged him a little too harshly.

"So what did you want to talk about," Ichigo changed the topic. He felt like he shouldn't talk more about that topic, at least for the moment.

"Well, I can't get you out of my mind. The other night, when we kissed, it just felt right. It's strange for me to say this. Especially since I can't wrapped my mind around why I was feeling that was. I always have been attracted to girls, then you come along and my mind gets all screwed up. I don't have anyone else to talk about this stuff with, well maybe Nelie, so I decided to talk to you."

"I may not be of much help, honestly. My mind been quite screwy, thinking along the same lines as you. I am still not sure how I should be feeling. I won't lie. I did enjoy the kiss." The two teens glanced at each other, their eyes meeting. Both soft, gentle, truthful. Before anymore words could be exchanged, a ringing sound went off.

"Crap! That's Nelie!" Grimmjow cursed as he glared at his phone. This was not a welcomed interruption. "We will have to finish this conversation some other time." Ichigo simply nodded in agreement. The blue hair teen looked at his orange hair counterpart. He stuck out his hand and ruffled the hair. "Try not to over think things Berry."

"Stop that!" Ichigo chuckled, albeit, annoyed. Though he wasn't too sure if it was by the name or the hair tousle.

"Have a goodnight! If you tell anyone we had this talk, I'll kill you!" With those parting words, Grimmjow left the park.


	9. The Plan and the Ticket

Author's notes: Sorry for the whole chapter being nothing but set ups. Almost everything in this chapter is a set up for some major points in the story. The bulk of this chapter was what I could salvage from the original files. I also want to give thanks to all of my readers. When I first started writing this story, I got so busy with school, work, and life, that I forgot about this story, and intended to let it die and be banished to the forgotten realms of the website. However, over the course of the past year and a half, I would randomly receive emails that people were liking and favoriting this story. Those small reminders gave me the push to try my best to finish this story. We're almost at the half way point!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9: The Plan and the Tickets<strong>

Grimmjow sluggishly walked back to his place, back hunched over, hands shoved deep into his pockets. He was a bit angry at the moment. Well, a bit angry was putting things lightly. He was pissed off at the woman who ruined his night. He felt a moment between Ichigo and him developing just for a phone call to ruin it. He stomped down the sketchy looking neighborhood and climbed a set of metal steps. He let out a sigh as the door swung open. In the small living room was a busty, long green hair girl. She was wearing a white beret that seemed to be shaped like a skull. She donned loosely fit green pajamas. A sense of dread filled the air the moment the blue hair teen stepped into the apartment. The green hair girl saw that the other had entered the room.

"Sorry for calling you on such short notice," she apologized. A remorseful, almost worried look was sprawled across her face. Something must have happened.

"Its fine," he lied. His face didn't fully convey that message. "What's the emergency? Normally it's not like you to call so late at night."

"I'm surprised you answered, to be honest."

"I figured it was important, life or death or something along those lines."

"Life or death? You know I can handle more than my own right?"

"Yes." He let out a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge between his eyebrows. "That's why I thought it was an emergency Nelie!"

"It is," she looked away. Grimmjow knew this was a sign of trouble. Ever since they were kids, they always looked each other in the eyes when they had serious talks.

"Nelie, just tell me." She pulled out her phone and pressed a few buttons.

"Here," she tossed the phone at the other teen. "_He_ is coming home."

"No this can't be," eyes darted across the screen. "He supposed to be in America on business for the rest of the year at least!"

"I know, Grimm, I know," she comforted, knowing it wouldn't do any good. "He will be here at the end of next week."

"Why, Nelie?" he gazed at her. "Why now?"

"Things will be okay," she tried to reassure him, placing her hands on his shoulder. "Maybe his visit will be quick and he will leave for business again before we know it."

"I hope your right," Grimmjow gave her a small smile. It was the least he could do. He did not want her to worry over him too much.

Grimmjow bid goodnight and sauntered to his room, closing the door behind him. The room was pretty basic, only equipped with the bare minimum, bed, dresser, and desk. A closet was positioned next to the door, and a window hovered over the bed. The room was in no way a mess, but also lacked any personal touches. A cheap motel room had more personality than his room, but this made him feel comfortable in a sense. He pulled out his phone. The light from the screen lit up his face. After a few seconds passed, he closed the lid and tossed it towards the other end of the bed. There no way Ichigo would be up at this time of night, right? He let out a sigh as he shot back up. He looked over to where his phone lied. He gently scooped it and checked the time. It was slightly after midnight. The last time he messaged the other teen, it was a little past three, and he responded. Then again it was on the weekend, he countered. He flipped open his phone and lied down on the bed. He pressed a few keys and slammed the lid shut. He couldn't go through with messaging. With an exhale, turned to his side, tossing the phone on the ground. When did he start thinking about the other teen so much? The first sign of bad news and his thoughts instantly go to the orange hair boy. Why was this?

* * *

><p><strong>Red vs Blue<strong>

The room was bright, with the pristine white wall making everything seem much brighter than it actually was. Furniture was placed statically placed in the room. Just being inside made it feel like a small house, or at least that how Renji felt when he was in Rukia's room. "Cute" stuff animals were scattered about. Renji was sitting in front of the foot of the bed, with his red hair laying on the bed. Rukia laid behind Renji, messing with his hair. This time, she felt like braids. At least that what half of Renji's hair showed.

"You know," Renji smile melancholically, "you're the best."

"I know," she answered with a grin of her own. "I just don't like bragging about it. I'm trying to commit to this whole modesty thing."

"So will things really be okay?"

"Yes. No matter how things turn out, I'll be right here by your side, every step of the way."

"I just don't know what going on in my head anymore. I am just so confused about everything."

"It happens Renji," she tried to comfort him. "I'm here for you to talk things out, and we will figure it out, one step at a time."

"I just need some time to think."

"No you need the opposite of that," Rukia tugged on his hair. He let out a moan of pain, but the girl only giggled, innocently at that. "You need to keep yourself focused on other things. The more you think about this, the more frustrated you will get, and no answers will come to. If you spend your time thinking about other things, then the answers you will want will just appear."

"So just don't think about it? That'll be hard."

"It shouldn't be too hard for you."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well you're not the thinking type. Your mind is constantly in an empty state."

"Hey!" Renji shouted. The two teen just laughed. It was nice that they were still able to joke around like this, even during some serious conversations. "So how do you suppose I distract myself?"

"Simple," she smiled. "We're going on a date." She pulled out an envelope and dropped it in front of the red head, before continuing with his hair.

"Why are there four tickets?" he asked, opening the envelope. "If two are for us, who are the other two for?"

"Oh, just some friends of ours."

"I don't like the way you said that. Your plotting something aren't you?"

"What? Why I never!"

"What are you plotting?"

"Nothing."

"Rukia. I've know you for a rather long time. What are you plotting?"

"There is no plot."

"Rukia."

"Renji."

"Rukia…"

"Fine," she let out a defeated sigh. "I'm going to try to hook up Trent with Shuhei."

"Wasn't that something Rangiku just made up?"

"Yes, but she always had a scary sixth sense for these kinds of things. Its obvious Trent likes him, so we are going to provide that extra push."

"We?"

"Yes. We."

"Oh no! Leave me out of this! I always get in trouble when it comes to one of your plans!"

"Oh you do not!"

"Remember the time with the cops?"

"How was I supposed to know we were trespassing?"

"Geez, I don't know. If only there was some sort of posting to inform us. Better yet, if only someone erected some sort of fencing like barrier to keep…OW! Quit pulling my hair!"

"Sorry, there are just some knots I need to get out so I can finish the braiding."

"Remember the time with your brother?"

"Which time?"

"Exactly my point."

"Fine, fine. Whatever. You're helping regardless. It's better to submit now, otherwise, I'll have to wear you down."

"Fine. What am I doing?"

"Oh it's simple. Just give a ticket to Shuhei."

"That's it? What's the catch?"

"You just have to make sure he accepts the ticket and promises to show up. Also, make sure not to tell him that Trent is coming. Lie if you have to."

"So we're setting them up in the sense that they will run into each other and since they both just _happen_ to be there, they will hang out and the romance will progress?"

"Something like that?"

"So what are the other two tickets for?"

"We are going to watch them, prod, nudge, do whatever it takes to make the spark happen."

"Ah I see. Now it sounds like a Rukia Kuchiki plan."

* * *

><p><strong>Red vs Blue<strong>

The bells echoed throughout the empty halls. Soon the sounds of students murmuring filled the walkways, it was lunch time once again. Renji quickly departed the class. He wanted to speak to Shuhei as soon as possible. He would normally use his lunch time to practice and play soccer with his friends. The more relaxed pace of these games allowed him to try out new formations, maneuvers, what have you that he would not be able to do at a normal practice. He won't let anything detract from this time if he could avoid it. He quickly launched himself the stairs to the third year's floor in hopes of catching the other teen before he left to lunch.

"Not here?" he pondered as he slid the door the class 3-A. "Where could he be?" He shook his head and tried to think of where else Shuhei might be. That when an idea struck him, the roof! The "cool kids" as Trent so kindly referred to them, always ate lunch and spend time with each other there. That would be the next place to look. Renji took off. He placed his hand on the knob and stopped once again. If Shuhei was on the roof, Rangiku and the others will be as well. If he were to hand over the ticket while she was there, that would spur a whole lot of materials for which she could work with.

"Abarai," a voice caught him off guard. He knew who the voice belonged to. Now all that was left was to turnaround to see if he is alone. "Why are you just staring at the door?"

"Uh…" he paused. He could not come up with an answer, especially one that did not make him look like a complete and utter dumbass.

"Is the door locked again?"

"Sure, let's say that."

"So what brings you to the roof? Don't you normally play soccer at this time?"

"Yes, and I'm on my way there now. First I needed to speak with you."

"Speak with me? Are you in any sort of trouble?"

"What? No! Why would you ask that?"

"You never seek me out to speak one on one."

"Well, I wanted to give you this," Renji handed over an envelope. He had to make sure not to let out more information than is necessary. Shuhei gave the red head a look of confusion. Nothing was making sense for him. He ripped it open and saw the ticket.

"It's a ticket, to an amusement park?"

"Yes, meet in front of the fountain an hour before the time printed."

"I don't understand."

"Well the ticket says the gate opens at noon. So meet at the fountain at eleven. Geez Shuhei, you're supposed to be smart."

"No, that I understand," Shuhei shot Renji a dirty look. "I don't understand why you're giving me the ticket. Are you asking me out on a date? If so, I have to tell you…"

"No, _I'm_ not asking you out on a date," Renji cut him off before he could finish. "Think of it as hanging out. Rukia and I had this extra ticket, and she decided to give it to you."

"Oh."

"Plus, how can I ask you out on a date? I'm with Rukia. I may be a dumbass, but I'm not an idiot."

"So why me? Why not Inoue or Matsumoto?"

"Well Inoue is busy, and Rukia said that Matsumoto would complain too much."

"That I can see. Why not Ichigo?"

"She said she doesn't want to put up with us."

"I don't blame her. You two fight like an old married couple."

"Hey, we do not!"

"You guys do bicker quite often. There no getting around that."

"Shut up!" Renji's face went red. "Are you coming or not?"

"Yeah," Shuhei scratched the back of his head. "I don't have any other plans."

"No backing out! Dress nice too!" Renji ordered. "I'm off to play soccer, see you later!" Before the other teen could say anything else, the red head was out of sight. Shuhei let out a heavy sigh. The red head was setting him up for something, he just knew it. No that isn't quite right. Rukia was the mastermind behind all of this. Renji was just the vanguard, the messenger. He promised he would show, so it would be best to go with the flow and let whatever happens, happen.

"Oh right," he mumbled as he slightly shook the doorknob, "it's locked.

* * *

><p><strong>Red vs Blue<strong>

"Hey Ichigo!" Rukia called out moments after the bell rung. "Can I speak to you for a second?"

"Sure," he answered. He looked around and noticed a flutter of red hair flutter in the doorway. If Renji left the room this swiftly, trouble was definitely coming. "What's up?"

"I have a favor to ask," she batted her eyes, and tried to speak as cutely as possible.

"Don't start with that look," he warned. "Just tell me what you want."

"I need you to do two thing for me. Both are relatively simple."

"Okay, it shouldn't be that much of a problem. What do you need?"

"Catch," she tossed an envelope towards him. Confused, Ichigo lifted the flap and saw two, semi-colorful pieces of paper. "They're tickets to the amusement park."

"I can see that. What do you want me to do with them?"

"Well, first, I need you to give one to Trent and tell him to meet in front of the fountain at eleven."

"Why do I need to give one to Trent?"

"I have a plan, don't worry. Just remember not to mention where it came from."

"A plan?" Ichigo mused. "I'm going to stop you right there. Don't tell me anything else about it. If things go south, I want as much plausible deniability as I can possibly get."

"Things won't go south!" Rukia defended.

"Yeah yeah, haven't I heard that one before? So what is the second ticket for?"

"It's for you of course," she winked. She literally winked. Trouble was on Ichigo's front door and there was no avoiding it now. He should have seized any opportunity to excuse himself from the conversation, but now he was in too deep. This always happened.

"Why do I need a ticket?"

"I will spare you the details," Rukia said as if she was doing him a favor, "but it's for you to keep an eye on Renji. _Possibly_ help him out. Originally I was supposed to help him out. However, my brother making me do a stupid tea ceremony thing for the family that day."

"Rukia," Ichigo looked her dead in the eye, "exactly what are you planning?"

"Plausible deniability, remember?" she mocked. "Besides, it'll be apparent once it happens." Ichigo continued looking at the woman standing in front of him, trying to figure out exactly what she is planning. Trent, Renji, and now him. That three tickets. There must be a forth.

"Wait a minute," he stammered out. "Don't tell me you're…"

"Bingo," she winked again in a devilish manner.


End file.
